• grueling •

Notes: Today's word seems to be an isolate, a lexical orphan without any relatives. However, it is an old participle of the verb gruel "to punish" (see Word History). If you live in the UK or other English-speaking region that uses British spelling rules, you will probably want to double the L in this word: gruelling. One L is sufficient in the US.

In Play: This common adjective refers to an exhaustion that is like punishment: "Constance Noring had a grueling day at the office: the boss kept looking over her shoulder all day." It is a good vocabulary item for those who consider any type of work punishment: "I lead a grueling life: clean up my room, clear the table, take out the garbage—one grueling task after another!" Sounds like a teenager, doesn't it?

Word History: Today's Good Word started out as a noun referring to a thin, runny oatmeal served to the ailing and infirm. It was also served in prisons to criminals and from this association it gathered a metaphorical sense of "punishment". Throughout the 19th century, "get your gruel" meant to get your just deserts (not desserts). By 1891 the noun gruel was being used alone as a verb meaning "to punish". Gruel was borrowed in 1199 from the French word with the same spelling. French borrowed it from an Old Germanic word grut "coarse meal, malt", a derivative of an even older word meaning "grain". From grain to punishment is a long semantic trail for a word to traverse.

Anyway, metaphors aside, Dr. G labels grueling a "lexical orphan." (Hard to escape metaphors, isn't it?) According to the Alpha Dictionary, "A lexical orphan is a word without derivational relatives." There's something pathetic and Dickensian about these Waif Words* tugging on our sleeves. How do they endure the grueling struggle for survival with other words without support? Do they all live together in a lexical orphanage? Might they be adopted? Is there a foundation for them of some sort? I'm going to investigate the Waif Words' plight and report to you with the results.

What a great idea I thought I had, "Adopt a Word" at http://www.adoptaword.com. Unfortunately, others including the OED have adopted the idea (Sorry for that.) All words are up for adoption at their site, but I have in mind only the most needy--Waif Words. Thought you might enjoy a break from your grueling task. More on this later.